Duster (2025) s01e08 Episode Script

[man over radio] Sunbeam bread.
[radio tuning between channels]
[woman singing over radio]
How much do I love you?
I'll tell you no lie
How deep is the ocean?
How high is the sky?
How many times a day do I think of you?
How many roses
Are sprinkled with dew?
How far would I travel
To be where you are?
How far is the journey
From here to a star?
And if I ever lost you
How much would I cry?
How deep is the ocean?
[Virgil] I don't know
who you've been talkin' to,
but they've got this all wrong.
[Saxon] Cleavon Kendrick,
he got it twisted up, too?
'Cause he ain't never missed
a bet on a numbers day.
Not till you pulled
- [Saxton] Like clockwork,
every week,
Ole Cleavon bets half his paycheck
on his mama's birth date.
Nine, one, eight.
But now, my word from the bird is,
Virgil Hayes's days of
running numbers are over.
Now, see, that's just the grapevine trying
Half my goddamn regulars
think they can't come to your store
and put their bets in no more.
Now that fucks with my bottom line.
See, the cops are sniffing around.
They're arresting runners
and stealing payouts.
[Saxton] You think I don't know that
this is about more than the heat?
- [lighter clicks]
- People are losing their money.
They're losing their houses,
getting their heads cracked open
when they can't get you the money.
Now, come on, Sax, that's too much.
I helped you make payments on this store
when the bank was gonna rip it
from under you.
- You move when I say.
Sorry, Daddy.
Is this your little crumbsnatcher?
Hi.
Looking just as pretty as your mama.
[Virgil] Say thank you to Mr. Saxton.
Thank you, Mr. Saxton.
Yeah.
I'll see you tomorrow.
Word will be out that
we're still in business.
You my man?
I'm your man.
[Saxton] Right on.
[door opens, closes]
Who was that?
Nobody for you to be worried about.
[woman singing no radio]
Just to be where you are
How far is the journey?
I got something for you.
It's so pretty.
Open it.
[woman singing] How much would I cry?
So, you'll always have me with you.
Thank you, Daddy.
[woman singing] How high is the sky?
[tense music playing]
Rise and shine, puddin' pie.
Why am I here?
[Billy] Little Q&A. Just you and me.
Your boss know about this huge
mistake you're making?
Me? You're the one who fucked up.
Ain't that right, Agent Hayes?
I don't know what you're talking about.
I knew something was wrong about you
from the fucking beginning.
But you were smart, I'll give you that.
Wrapped the boss around your finger.
His boy, too.
Whole damn clan, but not me.
Never me.
how long have you been working
with Jim Ellis?
Shut up!
Stop.
You two have been scheming for a while.
Is Jim the only rat?
Or did you manage to flip somebody else?
I don't know what you're talking about.
[sighs]
You're gonna fucking love this. [chuckles]
No. No!
[screams] Yes!
[Nina groans] No! No!
Here we go.
Yeah!
[theme music playing]
Mija.
No more adventures like that,
do you hear me?
- Yes, Mami.
- Okay.
Okay.
Go fix yourself some breakfast, all right?
[Luna] Mmm-hmm.
Oh my, gosh, I feel like I lost five years
off my life when I couldn't find her.
This'll put those five years back.
Jim, I don't want your money.
Oh, this is better than money.
[exclaims] Wow.
Where did these come from?
The real question is what's Temple willing
to do so his wife never sees 'em?
- [chuckles]
- Jim.
Look at you, bringing Christmas in July.
Ho, ho, ho.
Thank you.
- [door opens]
- Everything groovy?
The grooviest, actually.
Um, Jim was, just giving us
what we need to leverage Temple.
Oh.
I helped, too.
Wait, what? What does she mean?
Peanut was your biggest cheerleader.
She helped convince Sax to give you those.
I'll tell ya, sometimes I wish my line
of work involved extortion and bribery.
- I can introduce you to some people.
- [laughs]
Actually, I met someone you work with.
A bald guy, mustache.
- Who, Billy?
- Maybe, I didn't really get his name.
Yeah, that's Billy. Where'd you meet him?
We have this patient, police officer,
just woke up from a coma.
The nurses said he's been demanding
to speak to Ezra Saxton.
That's your boss, right?
You're telling me Groomes woke up?
Look relax, if there's one thing we
learned anything about Agent Hayes,
whatever you expect of her,
she's doing the opposite.
Sir, this isn't like her
to not show up in the office.
Right, it's only been two hours.
I don't know, getting her hair
teased out or something.
- What?
- I don't know what the fuck they do.
[knocking on door]
Awan, I've got Jim Ellis on line six.
He says it's an emergency.
Agent Bitsui.
- This Nina's partner?
- Yes, sir, it is.
Listen up, Nina's cover is blown.
Mine is, too.
Secretary said she's not in the office,
is that right?
Yes, she's gone missing.
Well, that ain't no coincidence.
Billy Mahoney, Saxton's muscle,
he's been suspicious of Nina
from the jump.
Wherever she is, he took her there.
We'll put out an APB.
That's why I'm calling. You do that,
it gets back to Sax, she's dead.
I need you to do nothing.
Any wrong move from your office,
they'll take her out, you get it?
- Yeah, I get it.
- Good.
Saxton's guys took her.
Ellis says that anything we do
could get her killed.
["Trouble Man" playing]
I come up hard baby
But that's okay
'Cause Trouble Man
Don't get in my way
I come up hard, baby
I've been for real, baby
Gonna keep movin'
Gonna go to town
I come up hard
I come up gettin' down
[Billy] Boss man.
What the fuck is the emergency?
Our interpreter's a fuckin' fed.
Nina Saint James.
You picked that last name out
of a magazine?
- Phonebook.
- And for what?
To get a pat on the head
from the fucking government
for taking another brother down?
You still don't know who I am, do you?
Let me help you.
Check my locket.
Virgil Randolph Hayes.
Son of South Philly.
Husband to Audrey.
Father to Nina.
And you fucking killed him.
Glad you didn't deny it.
I would have lost my shit.
How old were you back then?
Five?
You don't know shit about what went down
between me and your pop.
I know that one day he got in his car,
and it blew up,
just like you promised it would
if he stopped working for you.
you've eaten my food.
If this was about revenge,
you could have killed me anytime.
It's about justice.
You're gonna rot in prison for what's left
of your sorry fucking life.
You, I can understand.
Jim has nothing to do with this.
And not just Jimmy, his father, too.
You're gonna pay.
You're gonna send your caveman
back in here to do your dirty work?
At least be man enough to do it yourself.
Take me to an empty grave.
when I say.
[Temple] What the fuck is this?
Mrs. Temple.
Who's seen these?
[Izzy] Just me, and a couple others
you'll never know.
Should we call her?
She's never seeing these.
Oh, knock yourself out. There are copies.
Sealed in envelopes,
addressed to every newspaper in the state.
Waiting to hit the mailbox
if anything happens to me,
if you don't play ball.
How do you wanna play this, Bob?
Private?
Or very fucking public?
To make it in South Philly after the war,
you had to have guts and drive.
Your father had both.
He was a good man.
Ah, not perfect.
[scoffs] A better man than you.
Well, he wasn't above
stabbing a friend in the back.
And I got the scars in mine to prove it.
Wanting out of the criminal life
you forced him into was not a betrayal.
But being an informant was.
Your mind games aren't gonna work on me.
Virgil was working with
the Philadelphia police department.
- [scoffs]
- That's why I killed him.
He was feeding them info
about the numbers game,
not only in his store,
but in every one that I had control over.
You're a liar.
You just wanna justify killing a man,
and destroying his family,
for greed, for vanity,
just so you could be king shit
in the neighborhood.
I'm telling you, Fondue topped itself.
Man, all that cheese
cannot be good for you.
Fuck cheese.
I'm talking about chocolate fondue!
[man] Chocolate and strawberries,
Who knew strawberries were so dippable?
Fucking, fuck!
Let me tell you some real truths.
The FBI knows all about my undercover op.
They know all about
your deal with the Russians.
They've been waiting for an opportunity
to take your sorry ass down.
So, this time,
you fucked with the wrong Hayes.
Whether you kill me or let me go,
you're done.
Jim's here.
Jim?
Fuck!
Hands on the car, asshole!
Or I'll use your face to stop a bullet.
Hey there, Billy.
Easy, I'm clean.
[Billy] Like I fucking trust you.
No wires, no weapons.
I'm here to talk to Sax.
I said, shut the fuck up!
Benedict fuckin' Arnold.
- [Jim grunts]
- [Saxton] Billy, that's enough.
Let's handle this inside.
Sax, you gotta hear me out.
I know I fucked up.
Boss, come on, let me shoot him
just in the leg or something.
Shut the fuck up, Billy.
I wanna hear what Jim has to say.
It ain't pretty.
Some evidence came my way from the feds,
about when Joey died.
That it wasn't an accident,
that there was C-4 in the blast.
The kind only Paris Gilford could get.
You mean she believes.
What, that I killed your brother?
First, I was trying to prove you didn't.
But then shit started pointing your way.
It was the last fuckin' thing I wanted
to be true, so I kept digging.
That's when this whole thing
spun out of control.
[Saxton] Who else you been turning?
I wanna know who else is working
with the feds.
No one. Just me, I swear.
[Billy] He's lying.
Look at his face. Look at his feet,
every part of him is lying.
What the hell are you doing here?
You knew the moment you rolled up here,
there'd be a gun in your face.
That I could kill you on the spot.
I figured that might be your angle.
Which is why I went to see my pop.
The old man is burned.
He was helping the Fed, too.
What'd you think he'd have some trick up
his sleeve that'll make me spare you?
Yeah, maybe.
He went to go see Genesis.
[Genesis] You know,
you never come by like you used to.
Well, Charlotte keeps me
pretty busy these days.
- Mmm-hmm. I've heard.
- [both chuckle]
I'm glad I knocked, place looked closed.
Well, for you I'm always open.
What's that?
It's a new business proposal
I'm working on for Daddy.
Yeah, I talked to his new interpreter
yesterday and I got inspired.
I want him to take me seriously
as a businesswoman.
I always loved your ambition.
Let us drink to that.
Two more rum and Cokes.
You know, I've got the perfect
bottle for this.
Straight from Havana.
Beautiful, brilliant,
and a refined palate.
You're the whole package.
I'm so glad you stopped by.
[tense music playing]
- Behind her.
- What, no chair?
- [grunts]
- Yeah.
No fucking chair.
[Jim] Mmm. [groans]
You know what to do.
Come on.
You okay?
[sighs] As long as I don't inhale.
Might have broke a rib.
What the hell are you doing here, Jim?
I worked my ass off
trying to keep you out of it,
and you just waltz in here and fuck it up.
Sorry I messed up your lies
about all my lies,
- about all your lies.
- Yep.
Come on, Baltimore. You know
I couldn't just leave you hanging.
[Genesis] You know, I would love to be
drinking these on the beach in Cuba.
- Here's to that.
- [chuckles]
[phone rings]
One second.
- Azure Lounge.
- [Saxton] Hey.
Hey, Daddy. What's up?
Can I see how my favorite
daughter is doing?
Only daughter. But okay, I'll take it.
[chuckles] It's good timing.
Guess who's here? Wade stopped by.
You should come over
and have drinks like old times.
I'm a little busy right now, rabbit.
put Wade on the horn, would ya?
- Wants to say hi.
- Oh.
Sax! My brother.
'66 Reno Split, huh?
I can't believe you dusted off
that old relic.
I can't believe you remember it.
Those card shark fuckers
had us by the short hairs.
You and your .45 got us out of there
with our money
and our ball's intact.
Well, we always were a good team.
After all we been through, Reno, Vegas,
Las Cruces, hell, Mount Suribachi,
who'd have thought we'd end up like this.
Things we do for our kids.
Well, you'd be surprised.
Jimmy's supposed to call me
by five o'clock today.
Do us all a favor,
make sure he makes that call.
[phone rings]
Yeah?
Ezra Saxton.
Sax! Good to hear your voice.
How you been, friend?
I've got a big fucking problem.
An FBI agent, name's Nina Hayes.
- I've got her in custody.
- No shit.
Look, I can't have a Fed's blood
on my hands.
I need a fix, and I need it now.
You my man?
I'm your man. Call you right back.
[phone rings]
That was fast.
Ez, that you?
Howard?
Just found out a hell of a thing
happened after you left!
The package with the tape was intercepted!
Intercepted?
By who?
My men were ambushed by emissaries
of an associate of yours.
Goes by the name "Greek Sal."
Tell me what happened.
Awan, hey.
I have an update for you.
- The radio signal guy?
- Mmm-hmm.
He practically blew up his house,
trying to kill me and Nina.
So he's literally a dead end.
Maybe, but who he was talking to
before that happened, isn't.
Look how many times he called
the Bellamy Hotel in DC.
We need to cross-check who was
at the hotel when these calls were made.
I already talked to the hotel manager.
They sent me a list of guests
for all of those dates.
It's gotta be connected to Xavier.
He's behind everything else.
[phone rings]
Agent Grant.
Newsflash. I need you at the end of
Route 37 at 2 pm sharp.
They're dropping off Hayes,
take care of her.
Make sure it's clean.
Done.
[Howard] Only one of my boys
made it out alive.
He ID'd one of Sal's ruffians
as the triggerman.
Seems your little turf war's
upended our grand scheme.
The tape never made it to Xavier.
And now the most important
goddamn recording
in the history of history
is in the fuckin' wind!
I'll get the tape back, Howard.
Good.
It'd be a shame if after all I've invested
in you and this little adventure of ours,
to have to call in my marker.
So you handle it, Ez. You hear me?
Handle it well and handle it soon.
[phone rings]
Howard?
No, but your problem's solved.
Have Hayes dropped at the end of
Route 37 by 2:00 p.m.
You'll never hear from her again.
Good.
And Xavier sends his regards.
You give him my best.
I'm fucking eating.
[Emile] Got Ezra Saxton.
[Greek Sal] Sax.
I know you have my tape, Sal.
Your tape? [chuckles]
No, it's my tape now.
Listen, I'm not a big music guy,
but I was thinking about
getting myself a reel-to- reel,
so I can check it out.
I'm gonna need that tape back.
Well, that's highly fucking unlikely.
We had a truce, Sal. You broke it.
That asshole Jim Ellis and your daughter
started this shit.
Our war is an occupational hazard.
with an offer I think you'll appreciate.
You give me what I want,
- I'll give you what you want.
- And what's that?
That asshole Jim Ellis.
I get the tape back, I hand him over.
No questions, no strings.
Here's another guest from DC.
What is it?
Trust no one,
especially him.
Fuck. [sighs]
What happened to your confidence
in your father's Hail Mary?
Just 'cause I still think we got a shot
doesn't mean I like being
fucking handcuffed.
You didn't have to help me.
- [sighs]
But I'm glad you did.
Thank you.
[bat thuds]
Hey, traitors!
Play time's over.
Now what?
Get in.
Where are you taking us?
You're both about to have
your own bespoke adventure.
I said get the fuck in.
Don't fucking touch her.
- [groans]
- [Billy] Fuck off!
[yells]
- [Nina] Leave him alone!
- Back off!
[Billy grunts]
You get in first, fuckwad.
[groans]
[groans]
Come on.
- [Saxton] All right, get in.
- Yeah.
Now you.
[groans]
Keys.
Left pocket.
End of Route 37, yeah?
Yeah.
Call Lyle, Royce, and the others.
Tell everyone the Greek Sal meeting is on.
Circle up at the Providence Railyard,
4:00 sharp.
You got it, boss man.
Sure I can't finish her off?
I'll do this one for fun.
Not a Fed. Just stick with the plan.
["Smiling Faces Sometimes" playing]
Smiling faces sometimes
Pretend to be your friend
Smiling faces show no traces
Of the evil that lurks within
Can you dig it?
Smiling faces, smiling faces, sometimes
They don't tell the truth
Smiling faces, smiling faces
Tell lies
And I got proof
Oh, oh, yeah
[Billy] Now get the fuck out.
See? The opposite of last time.
Cooperate with me
Save your fucking breath.
For the cuffs.
Oh, no.
[yells]
Whoo! It's been fun.
Have a nice life.
So, hear me when I'm saying
Smiling faces
Smiling faces, sometimes, yeah
They don't tell the truth
Smiling faces, smiling faces
Tell lies
And I got proof
Beware
Beware of the handshake
That hides the snake
Can you dig it, can you dig it?
- I'm a-tellin' you
- Beware
Beware of the pat on the back
It just might hold you back
- Jealousy
- Jealousy
- Misery
- Misery
- Envy
- Envy
I tell you you can't see behind
Smiling faces, smiling faces, sometimes
Hey, they don't tell the truth
Smiling faces, smiling faces
Tell lies
[music stops]
Get up. Come on.
[Jim] What is this?
The enemy of my enemy
solves all of my problems.
You're giving me to Greek Sal.
Which means you're letting Genesis die.
Wade was a lot of things.
But a cold-blooded murderer
was never one of 'em.
He's not gonna harm my girl.
You really taking that risk?
'Cause that's a chess move
you can't take back.
and sacrifice.
[chuckles] Yeah, Joey learned
that lesson, too.
I didn't kill your brother.
Whether you believe it or not,
it's the truth.
But you.
You made your choice.
[Nina groaning]
[gasps] Yes, yes, yes.
Yeah, fuck! Fuck! Ah!
[car approaching]
What?
Hayes.
Grant.
You got yourself into some trouble, huh?
Yes. I guess I did.
Every chance.
No!
[gasps]
[dramatic music playing]
[Grant] Hayes!
Where the fuck are you?
Hayes-y.
[whistles]
Come on, Hayes.
You never should've
come to Phoenix, Hayes.
There's no place for you here!
[gun hammer clicks]
There's only one way
this is gonna go Hayes.
It's just you and me out here.
I'm gonna find you, Hayes.
[Nina gasps, grunts]
- [yells]
- [groans]
[grunts]
[both grunt]
- [yells]
- [grunts]
[Nina yells]
[grunts, groans]
No!
[gun shots]
[gasping]
- How did you find me?
- I followed Grant.
I knew we couldn't trust him
like Breen said.
We're partners.
[chuckles]
Thanks, partner.
Because I got to get to Jim.
You should get to a hospital.
- He's in trouble.
- Yeah, go!
I've got this.
[intense music playing]
[Saxton] Stay here.
Come on.
I need you to know the whole truth
about what happened.
Well, you better spill it quick.
[Jim] It was 'cause
I thought you killed Joey,
but that wasn't the only reason.
Nina put the squeeze on me
when she found out about my daughter.
You don't have a kid.
Oh, shit.
Luna?
I'm gonna keep all the bad shit I've done
away from her as long as I can.
But she's still my little girl.
The thought of never seeing her grow up
tore me apart.
I was always focused on this job,
doing it for you.
I lost my way. You might've, too.
- Mmm.
- My pops reckons you killed Joey.
You let this shit go down,
that'll alone be confirmation.
He won't abide losing both his sons.
He'll want revenge and he'll get it.
So I wouldn't be so sure
Genesis will live till morning.
[Greek Sal] Sax, what is this tape?
Some new Roy Orbison or something?
Or something.
As promised.
- [Jim groans]
- That's for touching my wife, you fuck!
March, jackass.
["Crying" playing]
I was all right for a while
I could smile for a while
But I saw you last night
You held my hand so tight
As you stopped to say, "Hello"
Sal!
Yeah?
One more thing.
What's that?
That I'd been crying over you
Crying over you
When you said, "So long"
Left me standing all alone
Alone and crying
Crying, crying
Crying
It's hard to understand
What the fuck happened?
We gotta get your dad outta there!
Come on.
What the hell are you doing?
I can't do this to my kid.
We survive this, we go back for Nina.
[indistinct shouting]
Shit! They've got the case!
- Move! Get Sax out, I got you covered.
- Got you.
[man] Billy!
[engine roaring]
[Javier] Leave our men.
Holy shit!
[tires screeching]
No!
Pops!
No, no, no, no, no, no.
No, Pop, please, please, please.
We gotta get him to the car!
He needs to go to a hospital!
[stammering] What can we do?
Is there a new heart?
- He's gone.
No, no, no!
[sobbing] Pops. Pops, Pops, Pops.
[Royce sobbing]
[Genesis] And Royce would use my mascara
and paint a little mustache on,
and pretend to be Daddy
on the phone. [chuckles]
You remember, he always
wanted to be a big man.
Yeah. His time will come eventually.
- You okay?
- Hell, yeah.
Nothing another round won't fix.
[chuckles] Well, damn, we're really
going there, aren't we?
[door opens]
What the hell is going on?
Jimmy. What the fuck?
Royce wanted to tell you himself,
but he's still at the hospital.
Well, what is it, his heart?
It's not him.
It's your pop.
Our women truckers are a valuable part
of our economic ecosystem.
They are doing the same work as men
and should be compensated fairly.
With these changes,
it will make their lives
and all of our lives a whole lot better.
[all cheering]
Because you beautiful,
badass women took a stand.
To Hector and the guys.
And to our esteemed union president,
Bob Temple!
[all] To Bob Temple!
[upbeat music playing]
[Izzy] Jim, we did it.
It's all because of you.
I'm happy for you, Iz.
But I came here to tell you
I'm leaving town.
[chuckles] Not this again.
It's not what I want.
My life's too fucking dangerous.
Safest thing for you and Peanut
is if I'm gone.
Jim, you can't go.
Listen, Iz, this ain't easy for me.
You have to stay.
David's not just an oncologist.
He's my oncologist.
That's why I've been fighting so hard
for insurance.
[melancholy music playing]
To make sure I'm here for Luna
for as long as I can be.
How serious?
Pretty fucking serious.
I'm starting treatment soon.
So, I'm gonna need you to be here.
For her.
For me, too.
[woman] Iz! Come drink some, girl!
Get over here.
I got tequila!
Double shots! You've earned it!
Go on, get out of here.
Go have fun.
[clears throat]
[chuckles softly]
[exhales]
Yes, I read it. But I won't accept it.
With respect, sir, it's not up to you.
ASAC won't accept it either.
Hayes, you're not resigning.
The fuck I'm not.
I got what I came for,
and now I'm going home.
What I'm about to tell you is top secret.
You were right about the conspiracy.
Excuse me, what?
We've known about this tumult
in the field office
for well, over a year.
But I've been working with a task force
that forbade me from
telling you this until just now.
Well, it would have been
a lot better for me if you hadn't.
And I apologize.
I apologize for that and I apologize
for any of the antagonism
that you've had to deal with
in this office.
Yeah, there's been a little of that.
Well, the offending parties didn't
reveal themselves until you arrived.
You're welcome.
[sighs] And there's more.
This conspiracy
leads all the way back to DC.
And to Xavier, yeah, I know.
How do you know?
Because Breen left a tape before
he completely lost his mind.
He was onto Xavier.
Somehow that guy was involved
with the Russians,
with Saxton, with Howard Hughes,
and God knows who else.
He was the one loose end
we just couldn't connect.
Well, I can connect that for you.
If you agree to stay.
["Isn't It a Pity" playing]
Isn't it a pity?
Now, isn't it a shame?
How we break each other's hearts
And cause each other pain?
Baltimore, how in the world
did you know I was here?
How do you think?
You got my old man
wrapped around your finger.
[bottle pops]
Whoo! I didn't know I needed that.
After everything, I wasn't sure
I'd ever see you again.
I'm glad you came to say goodbye.
Well, that's not exactly why I came here.
The Field office rejected my resignation.
They said, "You're uniquely qualified
to help us on a top-secret task force
on a crucial investigation."
- That's a whole lotta words.
- [chuckles]
Did you accept?
On one condition.
- What's that?
- I was debriefed.
Xavier is a national threat.
They want me to find him.
[scoffs] Xavier?
That guy's a ghost.
your brother.
Joey's alive,
and Saxton helped him disappear.
[sighs, exhales]
I can't do this without you.
Oh, shit.
[song continues through car stereo]
[music turns off]
[in Spanish]
[man 2 speaking]
[Nixon over tape in English]
We have to stop them.
We have to stop them at all fucking costs.
I need a domestic war
that plays out on the nightly news.
On the cover of hometown papers.
[in Spanish]
[in English] I need bad guys.
we can take down, capture and put away.
[in Spanish]
[sighs]
[laughs]
[closing theme music playing]